


A Home To Call Our Own

by buffylovesfaith



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (don't worry romancin' doesn't happen til they're older), Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Crossover, F/F, Gen, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2018-12-18 13:58:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11875974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buffylovesfaith/pseuds/buffylovesfaith
Summary: Eleven year old Faith Lehane is thrilled (after she gets over her shock) when she receives a letter saying that she's a witch, and is welcomed to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. Finally, something that makes herspecialand will save her from her own miserable existence. At Hogwarts she'll meet friends, enemies(ish), and...maybe even find romance?Or, the Fuffy Hogwarts AU! (Featuring most of the rest of the gang in interesting ways as well, come in and find out!)





	1. The Beginning: Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write this AU for SO. LONG. and I'm actually kind of proud of this one (or the idea at least) so if anyone would let me know what they think that would mean the world to me!

The day the letter arrives is one of the happiest of Faith Lehane’s life. It shoots through the mail slot of her mom’s apartment and lands on the grimy hardwood floor, clinging to a puddle of sticky, dried beer that Faith’s mom had forgotten to clean up and Faith had made a point to _not_. She used to love helping her mom, cleaning up after her and taking care of her when she felt bad, but she’s not that innocent girl anymore. 

Her mom’s passed out on the couch (as usual) so Faith doesn’t have to grab it up and run into her room to read it in the corner of her tiny closet, but she does anyway. The letter is addressed to Miss Faith Lehane on stiff, white parchment paper. It’s the first time Faith’s ever gotten mail. 

The letter says crazy things; that Faith is a witch, and is expected to start the year at a school for witches and warlocks in Scotland called _Hogwarts_. What the hell kind of name is that?

At first Faith doesn’t believe it. It’s insane. Witches don’t exist, they’re fantasy creatures made up for little kids to day dream about, ones who still have the ability to believe. But still, Faith catches herself reading and rereading the crumpled pieces of paper she’s stuck in her secret hiding place under the removable floor board in her room. Could something this wild possibly be true?

But no, Faith doesn’t just not believe it, she _refuses_ to believe it. Even _if_ supernatural beings existed, it’s still impossible. Because something like this would mean Faith is _special_ , would mean Faith is chosen for something more than her own miserable existence, and that would just never happen. 

It’s not until an owl flies into her bedroom window, carrying a second letter, that she believes. 

*

Faith was really stressing about how she was going to get herself to fucking _England_ where she’s supposed to catch a train, but right before she’s about to walk to the bus station and catch a ride to the airport, hoping that the money she stole out of her mom’s wallet will be enough for a ticket, a car screeches around the corner of the building and pulls to a stop right in front of her. It’s a funny looking car, bright blue and...squished looking somehow. The driver pops out, a tall, thin guy with a wispy mustache and a British accent. 

“’Ello, there! I heard you were going ta be needin’ a ride! We’ve got a lot of Americans this year.”

Faith just nods, not sure what the hell’s going on.

“Well then, hop in! Wait! Er—ya got your parents’ permission, didn’t ya?”

Faith nods again, not stupid enough to admit she forged the signature on the permission sheets which had arrived in her bedroom about a week after the letters. She left a note for her mom on the kitchen counter telling her she was leaving. If she ever realizes that Faith is missing and looks for her, she’ll find it. Probably won’t shed any tears about it either.

“Good, good. We’ve had some problems with that before. Well, up and at ‘em!”

Finally Faith opens her mouth. “Are you from Hogwarts?” she demands, her tone verging on rude. Good, the trembling fear she feels in her throat can’t be heard and won’t give her away. 

The man looks astonished. “Why of course! What else do ya think I’d be here for?”

Faith just shrugs and steps up the bright blue stairs (stairs on a car? and ones that seems to be moving slightly as she stands on them no less) despite still feeling unsure because really, why the hell not? What does she have to lose? Yeah, this guy could be some kind of serial killer but she highly doubts it. He looks like he weighs ninety pounds at most, and he knows about Hogwarts. She’ll take her chances. 

The car (which is huge inside) zooms around at lightning speeds, stopping every so often to pick up other kids. Faith assumes they’re still in Boston until she sees a sign reading Austin, Texas zoom by her window. Her first encounter with magic and she’s taking it pretty calmly, she thinks, despite the jolt of shock she feels. After all, she’s seen a fuck-ton more than most eleven year olds. Faith sits in a corner seat and doesn’t talk to any of the other boarders. A slim brunette girl wearing glasses gets on in Texas. She sits down across from Faith and waves, but Faith looks pointedly away. The other riders include a shy looking raven-haired girl who’s trembling, three African American boys who appear to be triplets and are playing some sort of game that involves slapping each other on the head, the brunette girl, and a blonde boy who’s reading. Faith shrinks into herself, trying to disappear into her donated too-large gray hoodie, hoping she hasn’t made a mistake. 

When the bus is finally filled to capacity (it takes a total of an hour, and Faith thinks they’ve probably been all over the country by now) the car unexpectedly lifts into the air, almost leaving Faith’s stomach on the ground. Soon the car has sprouted wings and they’re soaring through the clouds, towards Hogwarts and a better future, Faith’s sure. It just has to be. 

*

The driver escorts the whole group, one by one, through the _freaking wall_ of the train station, and then they’re left there alone as he waves once and disappears into thin air. The other kids chatter quietly together, seemingly unconcerned. They probably have heard tales of the train station from older family members, or something. Faith just stands still, clutching her small backpack to her chest, hoping her eyes don’t look too buggy. Her mom always told her that her big doe eyes made her look like her “sweet lil’ baby” even now that she’s grown. Faith scowls to counteract any effects her eyes could be having. 

Once they’re hustled onto the train by the conductor, Faith settles herself into an empty cabin, hoping it will remain empty so she can be alone. Faith doesn’t have lots of heavy luggage that she needs help with shoving into the upper compartments like the other kids. Faith doesn’t have the books that she hears the other kids talking about. She sinks into the plushy booth and faces yet another window, scowling harder. 

By noon Faith’s stomach is growling. She has all of the cash she stole because she didn’t have to buy a plane ticket, but she’s having a hard time breaking herself out of the trance that staring out of the window has put her in. Boston certainly doesn’t have countryside like this. Almost against her will, Faith feels herself relaxing slightly. She got out of her mom’s shitty apartment, at least for now. Nothing can be as bad as that place. 

Finally she snaps out of it and digs through her backpack for her Batman wallet. She cautiously slides the glass compartment door open and steps out into the walkway, deciding she’ll have to hunt for a source of food.


	2. Chapter 2

As Faith walks through the train she glances into other occupied compartments, casually trying to gain some info on her soon-to-be peers. One contains a girl with a red bob and skin pale as a ghost who’s reading furiously. Another houses a tall brunette girl who’s complaining loudly (to herself it seems) that there’s not a television to be found in the entire train and she’s _bored_ , what is she supposed to do? Faith continues to walk until she reaches an old woman with a pushcart of food for sale. 

After Faith’s spent a small but agonizing amount of her cash on the only thing vaguely resembling actual, non-flying food that she could find, and has scarfed it down quickly, she feels the train beginning to slow to a halt. An attendant with a chipper Scottish accent making her rounds through the hall pops her head in and tells Faith to leave her backpack in the compartment, as her stuff, as well as everyone else’s, will be magically sent to their rooms after they get their dorm assignment. Despite having been flown over the ocean in a car with wings, Faith’s still not sure she trusts “magic”, and beyond that, she doesn’t trust people, period. She considers smuggling her backpack in under her hoodie, but decides against it. That thing would be pretty hard to hide, and none of her belongings are worth anything. She has a few favorite shirts and a pair of jeans she likes, but, judging by the matching black cloaks everyone around her has suddenly donned, she probably won’t be able to wear that stuff here anyway. Instead she grabs her wallet and her plastic bag filled with a few sentimental items that she’s embarrassed by but has kept for years anyway, and shoves them into one of the deep pockets of her ratty jeans. 

She disembarks off the train in a crush of eager students, all chattering so excitedly they sound like a flock of pigeons fighting over the last bread crumb. For a second Faith wishes that she could join in on the excitement and gossip with friends like everyone else, but then she remembers that she doesn’t need anyone and she’s better off alone. Faith’s stomach is tied up in knots, and she’s suddenly struck with a sick, nervous feeling—different to the kind she hopes she’s left behind at her mom’s though. More anticipatory, less dreadful acceptance. She stands by herself to wait for whatever’s about to happen next. 

Minutes pass, and the flurry of talk quiets, as if the students know that something is about to go down. They continue to whisper among themselves; Faith can hear several individual conversations going on at once, all of them about something called “houses” and which house people are going to be in. Faith has no idea what the houses are, but she listens closely, hoping to gain some information that will make her feel less confused and lost. Number seven and four on Faith’s list of the Top Ten Feelings That I Hate that she wrote when she was nine. 

“I hope I’m a Gryffindor. Everyone says it’s the best house,” Faith hears a tall redheaded boy say. “All my siblings before me were Gryffindors.”

“--Slytherin for me. That’s the one that’ll really get you ahead in life--” Faith notices that a few people glance suspiciously at the boy who says that.

“--I just hope I’m not in Hufflepuff--”

“Oh, anything but Hufflepuff! They’re all a bunch of wet, soggy blankets!”

“Nah, Slytherin is worse. You want everyone to think you’re about to turn evil, always keepin’ an eye on you, eh? And if you do get put in Slytherin, it’ll probably be true.”

“Gryffindor or Ravenclaw are good, I’m crossing my fingers. I’ll just die if they put me in Hufflepuff...me mum already thinks I’m dense.”

Faith frowns at all these strange words. _Gryffindor_? _Hufflepuff_? _What did I expect from a school called Hogwarts_ , Faith thinks. 

Soon mini boats are sailing across the surface of the lake, and the students scramble in. A petite blonde girl wearing the same black cloak as everyone else follows Faith into the boat that she’s chosen, almost causing it to tip over. 

“Oops! Sorry!” the girl exclaims in a high pitched American accent.

“It’s...okay,” Faith says as she holds onto the edge of the boat, trying to get it to steady.

“I’m Buffy,” the girl holds her hand out to shake. “What’s your name?”

“Faith,” Faith shakes her hand after a moment of hesitation. Then she slowly turns away and frowns into the mist that swirls on the lake’s edge, trying to catch a glimpse of where they’re heading. She sees the outline of a castle—recognizable to Faith from one of the few bedtime stories her mother read to her when she was little—slowly come into focus through the fog and feels a jolt of shock and something like pure excitement. _That’s_ not where she’s going to be living, is it?

Faith glances at Buffy out of the corner of her eye. Buffy’s patting her long hair and tapping her feet on the bottom of the boat. She’s pretty and blonde and she has shiny pink lips. Kind of like Amy and Becky from school. They thought Faith was the trashy daughter of a whore.

“So...uh…. Do you see the castle?” Faith hunches into herself slightly when she realizes that she just spoke out loud. And that what she said was so stupid. 

“Yeah! It’s so pretty! I’m sooo excited!” Buffy squeals as she starts bobbing rapidly in her seat, causing the boat to list side to side again. 

“So, did you...know about Hogwarts? Like before we came?” Faith doesn’t know why she’s suddenly being so talkative. Oh well, can’t help to at least get to know some other people a _little_ , right? Even if this was the type of girl that Faith had learned to stay away from, the hard way. They tend to send Faith home with the kind of wounds that don’t show, words that turn into wounds and grow and grow in Faith’s chest until they come out of her eyes in bitter tears that can’t be held in any longer; pain and hurt and a voice whispering _why were you dumb enough to think they’d like you?_

“Nope!” Buffy looks over at her and smiles widely. “Just heard about it when I got the letter! Mom didn’t want me to go at first, but, uh...well dad said it was okay.” Her blinding smile dims slightly. “What about you? Did you know?”

“Yeah,” Faith says before she can stop herself. “I did. My mom told me a lotta stories about the day I’d come here, my whole life. Sometimes she’d cry, saying she’d miss me so much—and she’d go on and on about what it was like when she was here too.” Faith holds her face still and tries to act convincing. She doesn’t know why she lied. 

“That’s cool!” Buffy smiles. “It’s awesome that you’re not the first one. So you won’t be confused or anything.”

“...Yup,” Faith nods sharply and turns away again. She’s suddenly sure that she just made a bad decision. Typical that that feeling only ever comes _after_ she’s done something and can’t take it back. 

“Can I ask you about the houses? I heard they’re kind of like teams? And I heard that Gryffindor is for good, brave people, and Ravenclaw is for smart people—guess I won’t be getting in there—and that Slytherin is for...kind of scaryish people and Hufflepuff is for, like, sweet people? Is that true?

“Uh...yeah, pretty much,” Faith says with fake certainty. That sounds pretty similar to what she overheard. 

“I hope I’m put in Gryffindor,” Buffy smiles. “But everyone I’ve talked to has been saying that. I probably won’t be.”

_Me too_ , the tiny, hopeful inner voice inside of Faith that only ever pops up rarely (and that Faith quickly shuts down when it does) speaks up. _I want to be a Gryffindor too. Brave...good...all the things I’m definitely not_ , the voice transitions into her regular old pessimistic one. The one that’s kept her alive so far. 

“Hey, where’s your cloak?” Faith is interrupted from her dejected thoughts by the question. 

“Huh?” she asks, stalling for time. _Shit!_ She might get caught in that lie sooner than she thought. “Oh, uh...my family didn’t have time to...shop. It’s getting shipped.”

“Oh,” the girl blinks and starts chewing on her lip. Her face doesn’t reveal much and Faith can’t tell if she believes her or not. “Well, I have an extra one. You can borrow it until yours comes, if you want. So you don’t get in trouble….”

“Um, okay.” Faith hates charity, but it probably is a good idea to blend in in the beginning. Especially when it seems like she still has a lot to learn about Hogwarts. And Buffy seems nice about it, no fakeness that Faith can detect. 

“Here you go,” Buffy pulls out a thick black bundle of cloth from a shimmery pink bag that she’s apparently smuggling in. 

Faith yanks the heavy cloak on over her clothes, and still, despite Buffy’s niceness, Faith knows. She’s been in this situation before, she can feel the sickly, embarrassing energy—this girl is the pretty, nice, blonde girl that Has, and Faith is the skinny, scrappy, unkempt, not-so-nice girl that Doesn’t Have. She hates it. She doesn’t say a word to Buffy for the rest of the boat ride and keeps her eyes on the horizon as they cut swiftly through the creeping fog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm sorry for taking so long to update!! I've been having writer's block, I lost my notes for this story, and I'm not really happy with these two chapters, especially this one, but I figured I just had to get it out. So please tell me if you're reading and actually like where this is going! Or leave me any thoughts, good or bad! It really helps motivate me :)
> 
> I promise the next chapter will be up much quicker!

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry I write such short chapters, but rest assured this will be a long fic with lots happening! This is just the beginning!


End file.
